Tulsi Gabbard reconsiders boycott of next debate, she will join the debate

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Rep. Tulsi Gabbard might not take part in Tuesday's debate.

Hours after Views From the Edge posted the original story about Tulsi Gabbard's consideration of boycotting Tuesday's (Oct. 15) debate among Democratic hopefuls running for President, Hawaii's congressswoman tweeted one line: "I will be attending the debate."

The original story and context follows:

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It's not been a good week for Democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard.

A New York Times article titled "What, Exactly, is Tulsi Gabbard Up To?" with the sub head reading "As she injects chaos into the 2020 Democratic primary by accusing her own party of 'rigging' the election, an array of alt-right internet stars, white nationalists and Russians have praised her" prompted the Hawaii congresswoman to seriously consider boycotting the next Democratic debate Tuesday (Oct. 15).

In a video released by her campaign, she castigated the Democratic Party and mainstream media like the NYTimes for "rigging the election" through its debate qualifications, making it difficult for candidates who are polling poorly, ie. Gabbard, to meet and to get their message across to the voters.

The NYTimes article implied that Gabbard might be being used Russian bots to attack some of the candidates who have polled stronger than the Hawaii congresswoman and her apparent appeal to right wing groups.

“She’s taken a series of policy steps which signal to the right that she has deep areas of alignment,” said the Times quoted Neera Tanden, a longtime policy adviser to Hillary Clinton who now leads the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

Of particular concern among some Democrats is her sharp attacks against Sen. Kamala Harris, who in the early going was considered one of the stronger opponents to Donald Trump because of her prosecutorial experience. In the second debate last summer, after Gabbard successfully criticized Harris' record as San Francisco's District Attorney and California's Attorney General, Harris popularity took a hit and still hasn't recovered.

Despite her aggressive campaign, Gabbard's appeal has barely moved the needle, hovering around the 2% mark in the major polls.

"There are so many of you who I've met in Iowa and New Hampshire who have expressed to me how frustrated you are that the DNC and corporate media are essentially trying to usurp your role as voters in choosing who our Democratic nominee will be," said Gabbard in the video.

"In this 2020 election, the DNC and corporate media are rigging the election again, but this time against the American people in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada," stated Gabbard.

"They are attempting to replace the roles of voters in the early states, using polling and other arbitrary methods which are not transparent or democratic, and holding so-called debates which are not debates at all but rather commercialized reality television meant to entertain, not inform or enlighten.

"In short, the DNC and corporate media are trying to hijack the entire election process.

Continuing, she said, "In order to bring attention to this serious threat to our democracy, and ensure your voice is heard, I am giving serious consideration to boycotting the next debate on October 15th. I will announce my decision within the next few days. With my deepest aloha, thank you all again for your support."

The 10 Democratic candidates from the September debate will be joined by Gabbard and tech billionaire Tom Steyer, who will be making his first appearance on the debate stage.

The debate is being moderated by both CNN and the New York Times, 8 p.m. Eastern. The specific moderators have yet to be named.

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